All Their Favourite Stories : Slawka G. Scarso

All Their Favourite Stories is a novella that sets up an ensemble cast of characters and invites us into their world(s). This is a place of great empathy and energy – we are taken to The Flowered Hill, a rest home for the elderly where we gain an understanding of the lives of the residents and carers, both present and past. And all is never as it may seem – which we are shown from the very beginning, when the first story carries the weight of history, and the meaning in (mis)pronunciation of a name, and (mis)communication across the space between two people. The writer applies varying voices and styles across these flashes. We watch characters as they encounter each other, and as they sift through memories.
~ Michelle Elvy, author of the everrumble and the other side of better.

This ultimately uplifting novella-in-flash, whose predominant narrator is Maria, a Polish immigrant, explores one indefatigable woman’s struggles to find connection and meaning through her work in a UK residential home. There is much to admire in Slawka’s authentic voice, and what really shines through is Maria’s determination to listen to, cherish and give voice to the older people she cares for, despite the difficulties she experiences with management and her home life. Never trite or sentimental, the tender stories and human connections revealed through these pages will warm even the most cynical of hearts.
~ Michelle Christophorou, author of Kipris.

The tiny portraits of the staff and residents of The Flowered Hill are pitch perfect throughout Slawka G. Scarso’s, All Their Favourite Stories. You’ll know many of the people in this beautifully paced novella-in-flash, and will recognise those we like, love and loathe, all eking out what remains of their lives and stories. Each of the thirty-three closely observed chapters illuminates seemingly mundane incidents, crafting a universal story that tugs on both emotions and memories.
~ El Rhodes, carer for elderly parent, and award-winning writer and facilitator.

Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-20-9; 133mm x 203mm; 102pp

£10.99 GBP

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Lessons at the Water’s Edge : Caroline Greene

Winner of the 2022 Bath Novella-in-Flash Award

For one young woman, a new city, a new family, a new start. But for the family, the newcomer brings her own changes. Will the language lessons, weaving through their lives, help them truly connect?

‘This novella captivated me from the start, with the suggestion of unreliable memory. From there, a natural rhythm develops, with stories flowing like water. The world we enter is a world of new experiences, new people – an education… the storylines glide, skim, sometimes sink below the surface and then emerge again. It is a sure hand that writes this novella-in-flash, and the dreamlike quality of the writing floats from page to page.’
~ Michelle Elvy, author of the everrumble and the other side of better.

Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-16-2; 133mm x 203mm; 74pp

£10.49 GBP

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Now You See Him : Tim Craig

‘Tim Craig is a master of microfiction. With enviable confidence, Craig spins the most varied, playful and poignant tales. The stories in this collection, most a single tight page of killer prose, all deserve revisiting again and again and again.’
— Christopher Allen, author of Other Household Toxins and Editor of SmokeLong Quarterly

‘Nothing combines wit and woe as seamlessly as a Tim Craig story. Loss underlies even the jauntiest of his pieces. This is the essence of good storytelling — while the reader chuckles, a subtle ache remains. Now You See Him is flash fiction at its quintessential best.’
— Fiona J. Mackintosh, author of The Yet Unknowing World.

Now You See Him is a sharp, intelligent collection of flash fiction, written with a lapidary’s precision. Tim Craig’s crisp, clean prose is refreshing and full of heart. There are glimpses of Barthelme in his examination of human frailties and life’s absurdities. Craig proves himself a master of the form, managing the delicate balance of moving from dark hilarity to tragedy and back again. He holds back just enough to urge the reader to reflect on what is left unsaid and to appreciate that there is always more to the story than a first glance holds.’  
— Janice Leagra, Editor of Janus Literary.

‘Once I’d finished reading Now You See Him, Tim Craig’s debut collection, I immediately wanted to read it again. These very short fictions are like beautiful intricate puzzles, with many layers and threads to unravel. The stories reveal the devastating nature of human existence with great observational skill and wit. I was frequently moved, yet often snorted with laughter. Tim has a unique voice. Not to be missed.’
— Jude Higgins, author of The Chemist’s House.

Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-14-8; 133mm x 203mm; 90pp

£10.49 GBP

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Unlocking the Novella-in-Flash : Michael Loveday

Unlocking the Novella-in-Flash: from Blank Page to Finished Manuscript is the first ever full roadmap for creating your own novella composed of flash fictions, or very short stories. Whether you’ve written a novella-in-flash before, or are a beginner newly experimenting, this flexible, step-by-step craft guide will support you to produce a high-quality manuscript of linked narratives.

‘This is it, writers. This is all you need if you’re even thinking of writing a novella-in-flash. Michael Loveday has written the destined-to-become-a-classic bible on the form.’
Kathy Fish, author of Wild Life: Collected Works.

‘An extraordinarily useful resource… Highly recommended for all writers, all teachers of creative writing, and anyone interested in new forms of expression.’
David Gaffney, author of Out of the Dark and Sawn-Off Tales.

‘A beautifully written and practical guide for novella-in-flash writers. Michael Loveday effortlessly unlocks the secrets of this ever-evolving form of storytelling that is coming of age in our time.’
Bambo Soyinka, Professor of Story, Bath Spa University.

‘If you’re a poet wanting to try to write something more substantial, or a prose fiction writer looking to branch out, this book will give you the inspiration and encouragement you need to start experimenting.’
Rishi Dastidar, author of Saffron Jack and editor of The Craft: A Guide to Making Poetry Happen in the 21st Century.

‘I guarantee that this book will become a staple in the reading diet of every flash fiction writer.’
Johanna Robinson, author of Homing.

‘Writers have been waiting for this book and we didn’t know it… Unlocking the Novella-in-Flash is destined to join the canon of invaluable books on writing.’
Pamela Painter, author of Fabrications: New and Selected Stories.

Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-08-7; 152mm x 229mm; 216pp

£14.99 GBP

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Flash Fiction Festival Four

Eighty-five stories from presenters and participants from around the world, who came to the nine online Flash Fiction Festival days, from March 2021 to January 2022. Inside this fourth Flash Fiction Festival anthology, sponsored by Ad Hoc Fiction, you’ll find flash fictions that experiment with structure, cover many different subjects in surprising ways and show how much is possible in this very short form.

‘As someone whose flash fiction writing only really took off during the pandemic, it was such a gift to be able to meet up online for some amazing input from writers whose work I revere. I made new online friendships, many of which have persisted via Twitter and in other workshops since. I was amazed to find my work accepted for the anthology, and am now looking forward (all paid up) to meeting some people ‘IRL’, in July 2022 at the Bath Flash Fiction Festival.’
~ Bonnie Meekums, from the UK

‘The Flash Fiction Festival is about so much more than writing flash. I came to these online festivals as a relative newbie to the flash scene and found a welcoming community of flash writers of all levels of experience from beginners to master. The community welcomed everyone and throughout the course of the festival, we attended online workshops, participated in writing challenges, chatted with other writers and wrote a lot. Having an opportunity to submit pieces we wrote during the festival workshops to the anthology was an added bonus. More than that, the things I took from this festival have had long-lasting effects. I learned of submission opportunities that led to publishing, I met other writers who give workshops and through those, have extended my circle of writing friends and colleagues even further. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have attended this event and I look forward to more.’
~ Finnian Burnett from Canada

‘I think the online flash fiction festival is a constant gem and a huge source of inspiration. Looking back at 2021, the festival days proved a consistent source of new pieces for me. All the ones I wrote for the writing challenges have found a lovely home since. I also loved the break-out rooms and the opportunity to meet other writers from around the world.’
~ Slawka G. Scarso from Italy

Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-06-3; 133mm x 203mm; 132pp

£10.99 GBP

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Margot and the Strange Objects : Robin Thomas

Margot has been left a peculiar collection of ‘strange objects’ by her aunt and is on a quest to find out something about them. Helping or hindering her or engaged on some other project entirely are: two men with a burden called Nimrod, a group of children in search of sardines and ice-cream, a taciturn man with a mysterious hat, a schoolboy who’s good at asking questions, a small dinosaur, a brace of giraffes, an August Personage, George the Oak Tree (a Portuguese-speaking arboreal author), a talking building, a camel, an interfering author and Nobody. On the way through their various journeys the characters wade through difficulties sensible, silly, philosophical, practical, linguistical and scientifically really important, until …

“Bath-o-pulsars, dinosaur training grounds, an oak tree (called George) that writes books – in the most glorious way possible, Margot and the Strange Objects is absolutely bonkers, as though Robin Thomas is channeling the spirits of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear into the novella-in-flash form. Thomas has published several well-received volumes of poetry, and his first work of fiction announces a brand new voice, capable of skipping between the profound and the playful in one sentence. This book brims over with energy, ingenuity and absurdity.”
~ Michael Loveday, author of Three Men On The Edge, V.Press

Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-04-9; 133mm x 203mm; 118pp

£11.99 GBP

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The Last Days of The Union : David Rhymes

Very few writers would dare to attempt what David Rhymes does here, let alone deliver something so authentic, convincing and real. The Last Days of the Union is a deep-dive into the Soviet Union of the late 1980s, and in particular a fascinating re-imagining of one strange, now-neglected event and all the circumstances that surrounded it. As a work of historical fiction, it depicts with breathtaking nuance and skill a time of instability, risk and political change. The multiple perspectives of the ensemble cast interlock like a sophisticated jigsaw puzzle. And at the centre lies the enigma of the young pilot Mathias Rust, whose rogue actions and motives were probably a mystery even to himself.

~ Michael Loveday, author of Three Men on the Edge

The Last Days of the Union is a cinematic cold war adventure, wrapped in a political thriller with the investigative flair of new journalism, and the vivid economy of flash. David Rhymes skilfully juxtaposes international politics with the minutiae of everyday life, with protocol, toothbrushes, snowdrops, and pickles to tell the story of a reckless dreamer, who briefly and bizarrely landed on the world’s stage.

~ Jupiter Jones, author of The Death and Life of Mrs Parker

Like the real-life plane flight that sparked off this novella, The Last Days of the Union cleverly circles around the momentous event of a teenage pilot landing in Moscow Red Square in 1980s. In wonderfully vivid and concise prose David Rhymes fictionalises the impact of the journey on the lives of many individuals involved. A brilliant read.
~ Jude Higgins, author of The Chemist’s House

Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-02-5; 133mm x 203mm; 122pp

£11.99 GBP

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Snow Crow : Bath Flash Fiction Volume Six

The sixth yearly Bath Flash Fiction Award anthology contains 136 flash fictions, all 300 words or under from the three rounds of the Awards in 2021. Inside, you’ll find heart-felt pieces about the state of the world, others that focus on the intricacies of relationships with friends, family and lovers. The writing style often surprises and there are many exciting experiments with form. It’s an excellent and varied selection of stories by writers from all over the world.

“After reading through the long list, I was reminded why the anthology is a gift to anyone who loves to read flash fiction…Some pieces drew me into the world of the story right away with a compelling first line or memorable detail. Others sneaked up on me, starting out quietly then surprising me with a turn that left me thinking, thinking, thinking.”
~ Charmaine Wilkerson, judge of the February, 2021 Award and author of How to Make a Window Snake, Ad Hoc Fiction, 2017.

“You encounter risky, raw stories that promise to leave you changed; love-at-first-sight stories full of confident verve; ones that have an allure through their use of language; quietly persuasive stories, confident in their low-key power; there are stories to admire for their elegance and beauty, and ones that raise a smile with their quirky charm.”
~ K. M. Elkes, judge of the June 2021 Award and author of All That Is Between Us, Ad Hoc Fiction 2019.

“All the stories here would find applauded homes in magazines… pieces that take the risk to step out on to the high wire… dreamscapes and dystopias, unheard perspectives and hidden inner dialogues, reworked fairy-tales and school play rebellions, the unexpected significance of custard, an earthquake on the page.”
~ Sharon Telfer, judge of the October 2021 Award and author of The Map Waits, Reflex Press, 2021.

Paperback ISBN 978-1-915247-00-1; 133mm x 203mm; 156pp

£11.99 GBP

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Season of Bright Sorrow : David Swann

After her father is jailed for murder, a young girl is re-housed with her mother in a crumbling resort. There are terrors here: tides and quick-sands, also a strange boy who wanders the marsh. But when the girl meets an elderly beachcomber who has known heartaches of his own, she senses that her fortunes could turn like the tide. The tide that rushes in faster than a horse, bringing life – and sometimes taking it…

Illustrated by Sam Hubbard

‘This collection stands out for the rhythmic storytelling and the variety the reader encounters in these small fictions – told in fragments, in lists, in long breathless sentences, in repetitions, in sharp and believable dialogue. There is great care here, and yet the stories spill from the page seamlessly… A superbly designed set of stories, from beginning to end.’
~ Michelle Elvy, Judge, 2021 Bath Novella-in-Flash Award.

‘Season of Bright Sorrow is a little miracle. David Swann takes a boarding house, a boy, and a bay; a girl and her mum; a scattering of glimpses and gaps; and he gives you nothing less than the universe. There’s warmth and wisdom, here. Heartbreak, profundity, and humour. And beautiful drawings, too, by Sam Hubbard. It’s a short book, and it’s absolutely full to the brim with love.’
~ Edward Hogan, author of The Electric (John Murray, 2020).

‘Season of Bright Sorrow is by turns dark and foreboding, life affirming and hopeful. Each flash fiction is unique and haunting, and together they reveal our human urge for connection and certainty. Swann’s characters possess you instantly and we cannot help but enter fully into each strange and beautiful life.’
~ Karen Stevens, author of Writing a First Novel (Palgrave, 2014).

‘In a series of poetically precise and illuminating flashes, this novella explores how one girl, Lana, begins to learn how to live in a world full of loss. David Swann finds a specific language for a specific landscape, and, in doing so, connects with universal themes of grief and hope. It’s beautiful. And it’s funny, too.’
~ Bethan Roberts, author of My Policeman (Vintage, 2012).

‘Dave Swann’s portrayal of childhood brims over with wisdom, warmth and wonder. The coastal settings are so achingly desolate, the characterisations so astute, idiosyncratic and compassionate throughout. Season of Bright Sorrow feels note-perfect and yet it’s full of wildness and wilderness. There is an unforgettable magic at work.’
~ Michael Loveday, author of Three Men on the Edge (V Press, 2018).

Paperback ISBN 978-1-912095-29-2; 133mm x 203mm; 122pp

£11.99 GBP

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The Bath Short Story Award Anthology 2021

2021 has been marked by lockdowns, loss, love and making connections through glass screens and online platforms. The stories here were born of these times and there is a dark vein running through them but, ‘yet there is great beauty and humour too – the flip side of our human coin. The winners of this year’s Award all demonstrate radical compassion, diverse perspectives, and truly extraordinary voices.’

2021 Judge, Norah Perkins, from literary agency Curtis Brown

Paperback, ISBN 978-1-912095-31-5, 133mm x 203mm, 168 pages.

£9.99 GBP

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Kipris : Michelle Christophorou

“Michelle Christophorou’s Kipris is a moving, lyrical tapestry of life and death on the island of Cyprus. This author’s debut historical fiction novella delights the reader with unforgettable characters who are brought to life with their stories of myth, magic, tragedy and love. The reader is thrust into the drama of the generations, spanning four decades, taking us from the mountains and sea to Liverpool and back again. Christophorou shows us, in these delicately-wrought stories, how resilience and love are what shine. I marvel at how each flash works as a stand-alone story and how together, they bloom into one masterful whole. Want to fall in love with the flash-novella form? Look no further.”
~ Meg Pokrass, author of Spinning To Mars among many others, and series co-editor, Best Microfiction.

“Despite its brevity, this compelling novella tells an epic story of a family’s struggle, in the face of political upheaval and intolerance, to maintain their indestructible love for place and each other. This is an important, timely story and Christophorou’s evocative, gorgeous prose makes it an immersive, emotional, heartfelt read.”
~ Jan Kaneen, author of The Naming of Bones

Paperback ISBN 978-1-912095-36-0; 133mm x 203mm; 76pp

£9.99 GBP

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One For The River : Tom O’Brien

A boy drowns. The tragedy rips a family apart and sends ripples through a small town. Choices made and not made haunt those left behind. They grapple through grief and anger, searching for a way to continue. Tender, funny, spare and warm, One For The River is a story of struggle and hope.

“Spare in style, this small set of pages resonates with the complexities of an entire novel”
~ Michelle Elvy, author of the everrumble

Paperback ISBN 978-1-912095-33-9; 133mm x 203mm; 86pp

£9.99 GBP

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The Listening Project : Ali McGrane

A boy lost to his family; a young girl growing up without her brother. This is a beautiful story of grief and the way it changes us. It’s also about tuning in, and learning to hear, as the title suggests, both outside and inside worlds. Moving across generations, and sometimes navigating delicate moments and thin ice, this novella takes us through a family’s sad story, but also rebirth – in more ways than one. Musical and rich in tone.
~ Michelle Elvy, author of the everrumble, Bath Novella-in-Flash Award judge.

A finely woven, beautifully observed work of art. A journey of rediscovery, of (re-) learning to listen to more than soundwaves, listening to images, to memories. Keeping faith with love, learning to walk with grief. I absolutely loved this book. It made me weep, it made me smile through tears, the prose made me insanely jealous – and rather proud to know the writer. Unforgettable.
~ Vanessa Gebbie, author of The Coward’s Tale.

Not just a remarkable story of someone experiencing a scientific miracle, but an exploration of other kinds of deep listening. The dynamics of relationships, of grief and memory, the suffering of others, physical landscape – all are observed with a keen intelligence in this novella. Ali McGrane sculpts her flash fictions like poetry, and makes us listen more closely to the world.
~ Michael Loveday, author of Three Men on the Edge.

A tenderly wrought narrative of loss—Imogen’s struggle with hearing loss and her family’s struggle to cope with the long-ago death of her older brother Arnie. Through gorgeous, affecting prose and inventive forms, Ali McGrane creates a quiet space—seemingly absent of sound—where the reader can ponder what it means to truly listen. This novella-in-flash is one to savour.
~ Sara Hills, author of The Evolution of Birds.

From the opening sentence, this is a masterclass in combining the beauty of poetry with the insights of memoir and the narrative drive of fiction. Through a playful variety of flash fiction forms, Ali McGrane throws you into the lived experience of her characters. You’ll emerge enriched, as though you’ve spent time living, and listening, as somebody else.
~ Stephanie Carty, author of Inside Fictional Minds.

Paperback ISBN 978-1-912095-27-8; 133mm x 203mm; 114pp

£10.99 GBP

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Small Things : Hannah Sutherland

Tender, brittle, ultimately shattering, but also full of hope and the possibility of redemption. Hannah Sutherland writes with economy and precision – and love.
~ Nicholas Royle, author of London Gothic & publisher at Nightjar Press

Small Things is a beautiful meditation on what keeps us alive when we lose the things we love. Sutherland weaves between narrative voices with tenderness and empathy for the human condition, guiding her characters through humour, happiness and heartbreak with disarming sincerity. In this, she captures the dizzying gravity of everyday life—the way it breaks us apart and makes us whole in our quietest moments and our deepest expressions of love. With insight, charm, and conviction, Small Things leaves its reader facing a hopeful world, feeling a little less alone and a little less afraid. 
~ Leonie Rowland, author of In Bed with Melon Bread & EIC at The Hungry Ghost Project

A heartbreaking, visceral novella with a unique and powerful voice. The reader becomes so deeply attached to the characters that you want to reach into the pages and shake them into action or warn them of the tragedy that awaits. A thundering, gut-wrenching story full of raw emotion and beautiful prose. This is a shining example of Sutherland’s talent.
~ Rachael Fulton, shortlisted for the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award 2021

In a few deft strokes, Sutherland draws us easily, but deeply, into the world of Small Things. Her use of voice is phenomenal; at once raw and rough, but also touching and tender. I read this in one breathless sitting and challenge anyone to do anything else. Small Things is an exquisite example of how much can be achieved within the form – evoking strong emotions of heartbreak, love, loss and ultimately friendship – and has rightfully earned its place within the growing novella-in-flash genre.
~ Laura Besley, author of The Almost Mothers & 100neHundred

A beautiful story of loss, told in a way that surprises you. The moments are captured with subtle storytelling, and the heart shines with all the small things between them. These stories hold sharp dialogue and sometimes uncomfortable encounters; these feel like real people building real relationships. Friendship and love resonate in these pages, and the ending is both surprising and perfect. And Kit, Kit Kit, is at the centre of it all. Exceptional storytelling!
~ Michelle Elvy, Bath Novella-in-Flash Award Judge 2021

Paperback ISBN 978-1-912095-41-4; 133mm x 203mm; 84pp

£9.99 GBP

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The Death and Life of Mrs Parker : Jupiter Jones

A theory expounded by Heidegger is that time is a series of ‘nows’, each one always already the subject of a flash of experience, and all hurtling towards the finitude that defines experience.

When Mrs Parker begins to feel most peculiar, an ambulance is called, and as the paramedics set to work, she wonders if that will be the end of her, there, at The Oriental Dragon surrounded by strangers forking up fried rice. As her life hangs in the balance, she considers her heart, and reviews some of the ‘nows’ of a life richly lived and almost always taken for granted.

‘Set in the structure the title suggests, this novella brings the reader into the moment of Mrs Parker’s demise and then, with swift moves and snappy dialogue, takes us through her life (moments both special and mundane), all while the ambulance lights flare and the compressions are counted. A life lived, a life revived, a life lost: there are many wonderful moments in this clever set of stories.’
~ Michelle Elvy, author of the everrumble and the other side of better

ISBN 978-1-912095-98-8; 133mm x 203mm; 90pp

£10.99 GBP

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Hairy on the Inside : Tracy Fells

Hairy on the Inside is sparklingly clever, very funny, poignant sometimes and sharp as a wolf’s incisors.
~ Vanessa Gebbie

A funny and irreverent monster mash-up, with love in the mix, too, and a serious message about how to be the real you.
~ Michelle Elvy, author of the everrumble

In this original, witty and irreverent novella-in-flash, Tracy Fells sprinkles her skilful writing magic over a group of extraordinary housemates.
~ Amanda Huggins, author of All Our Squandered Beauty

The Young Ones meets An American Werewolf in London. Beautifully written and extremely funny!
~ Tim Craig, Winner of the Bridport Prize for Flash Fiction

ISBN 978-1-912095-43-8; 133mm x 203mm; 80pp

£9.99 GBP

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The Tony Bone Stories : Al Kratz

“A strong and sure narrative, this lively set of stories explores truth and fiction, the line between reality and make-believe, and the way one story will influence the outcome of another. Rich in layers and confident in voice, the writing is witty, humorous and charged – and leaves the reader with a delicious set of questions to ponder, without being overly ponderous. It’s a romp through Tony Bone’s world – the good moments (he has a girlfriend!), the sleepless nights, the trip to Vegas – all the while working alongside his, and the narrator’s, existential crisis. Tony Bone has to exist, yes, but there must be a reason; as we learn here: you can’t just take someone from a news story and create a character to bring to your writing group, right? The narrator must build Tony – and plausibility – before our eyes. What a fun and rewarding exploration of the relationship between character, narrator and reader, and a reflection on possibilities, down to the very last marvellous line.”
~Michelle Elvy, author of the other side of better and the everrumble

ISBN 978-1-912095-39-1; 133mm x 203mm; 70pp

£9.99 GBP

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A Family of Great Falls : Debra A. Daniel

A FAMILY OF GREAT FALLS is a trip back in time, a story of love and loss and family, a perfect gem of a book. Debra A Daniel makes you smile and yearn, breaks your heart and lifts you up.
~ NY Times Bestselling author Ann Hood, The Knitting Circle and The Book That Matters Most

Debra A Daniel is a natural story teller. I was immediately drawn into A Family of Great Falls and involved with the characters’ lives. Beautifully written with humour and heart, this novella focuses on the daughters of an undertaker in the USA, in the 1920s and 30s. For them, death is a part of everyday life. The story is also about identity, how in different ways, the girls and their mother are determined not to succumb to the wishes of others when personal tragedy affects their lives. I was rooting for them all the way. And that is further testament to Daniel’s skills as a writer.
~ Jude Higgins, The Chemist’s House

In A Family of Great Falls, the eponymous town is home to siblings Willie and Jeanette and parents, Pearl and Henry. It is 1928 and Henry owns the local funeral parlour. The family are on the cusp of change; prosperity and social standing beckon, but there is indeed, a fall ahead. This novella is a triumph, showing the range of the form to encompass an epic tragedy, the minutiae of personal grief and resilience, and moves across decades with the lightest of touches. I was utterly absorbed.
~ Alison Woodhouse, The House on the Corner

Two sisters growing up with a sense of the potential promise that life may hold, as well as the dark realities that are unavoidable with a father who, as an undertaker, is the ‘keeper of the dead’ and a brother buried in the town cemetery. Oh, and a name that must be buried and farewelled, too. Tender but not sentimental, this is a balanced set of stories that reveal the bonds of sisterhood and the way two young girls face the hardest challenges.
~ Michelle Elvy, the other side of better and the everrumble

Paperback ISBN 978-1-912095-47-6; 133mm x 203mm; 132pp

£11.99 GBP

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Things I Can’t Tell Amma : Sudha Balagopal

A highly addictive read! I picked up Things I Can’t Tell Amma just for a taster first, and then I finished it in two reading bursts. It’s a moving novella-in-flash about the compromises a young woman has to make in order to survive and fit in a new country — but also, how she never forgets what truly matters and where she comes from.
~ Sophie van Llewyn, author of Bottled Goods.

There are many things that 22-year-old Deepa can’t tell her mother back in India now that she’s studying in Arizona. There are things she can’t tell the unfriendly librarian, or her shady professor, or her Indian would-be suitor, or the typist who sells her a typewriter, or prospective employers, but she’d like to tell her neighbor Theo how she feels about him. You’ll fall in love with Deepa as her story unfolds in these fifteen finely wrought flash. Warm, funny, and endearing, Sudha Balagopal’s Things I Can’t Tell Amma is a brilliant novella-in-flash, by a writer at the top of her form.
~ Jacqueline Doyle, author of The Missing Girl.

Told from the perspective of Deepa, a young woman who arrives as a stranger in a new country, Things I Can’t Tell Amma is an inventive novella-in-flash that explores how one navigates strange cultural norms and a yearning to belong. Even as this narrator tries to move on from her mother’s expectations, she finds her new life bewildering, adventurous, and full of heartbreak and love. Balagopal is a virtuoso of expressing the minutiae of things. A trapped quail finds its nest, the missing letter of a typewriter, the notes of a jingle from the 1980s, a limp doll hangs from a rearview mirror. This sensational novella is a gift you will want to unwrap again and again.
~ Dan Crawley, author of Straight Down the Road and The Wind, It Swirls

In this affecting novella in flash, a young woman leaves India to study in America. Balagopal expertly captures the tug between yearning for the familiar and wanting to find one’s place in a new world. In one flash, “The Missing I” Deepa buys a used typewriter for her term papers, only to find a broken key. When she complains, the vendor says: “Just write the damned ‘I’ in.” A clever metaphor for Deepa’s journey. The ambiguous ending left me hoping Deepa finds a way to “build a bridge across oceans.”
~ Damhnait Monaghan, author of The Neverlands, best novella 2020 Saboteur Awards.

Paperback ISBN 978-1-912095-35-3; 133mm x 203mm; 68pp

£9.99 GBP

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The Evolution of Birds : Sara Hills

In The Evolution of Birds, Sara Hills demonstrates her mastery of the short form as well as her deep understanding of the human condition. More than once I found myself holding my breath while reading these short, sharp miracles of narrative. These tiny stories, some no longer than half a page, glitter darkly, expose truths with precision and guts. Wild and raw and compellingly electric, Hills’s stories and the characters who inhabit them, will sear themselves into your heart and brain. Hills is an inimitable talent.
~ Kathy Fish, author of Wild Life: Collected Works from 2002-2018

Sara Hills’ The Evolution of Birds bursts with addictive, kinetic prose crafted by a writer with a confident vision and the precision of a surgeon. Each of these narratives proves that fully imagined characters can evolve on a single page. Hills plumbs the depths and the horrors of family, religion, and the sinister moments of youth. This is the flash narrative at its finest.
~ Christopher Allen, editor of SmokeLong Quarterly

The Evolution of Birds is an extraordinary debut. In a series of riveting stories, Sara Hills immerses us deeply into the often precarious lives of girls and women — children, very young women and mothers. Hills’ style is intimate, we’re close up to life-changing experiences. Her exact, startling images sear through to truths hard to tell. There is humour too and an inventive use of form. A must-read collection.
~ Jude Higgins, author of The Chemist’s House

There is a space where your breath catches in anticipation or fear or joy. Sara Hills finds that place with her debut flash fiction collection. Drawing readers in with each story, her words catch breath and life and death and grief. On each page, she serves up new images and descriptions that dig into souls, emotional and heart-rending. Each story nestles in and doesn’t let go – from mommy tigers to knitting a better mother, the relationships between life and words, the expected and the surreal create instantly-recognizable Sara Hills prose. Evocative and evolved, each story challenges the flash form and ideas with breath-catching storytelling. Hills’ chapbook could easily have been titled The Evolution of Flash.
~ Amy Barnes, author of Mother Figures

Sara Hills is a writer of extraordinary skill. For some time, I’ve considered her to be one of my favourite flash writers and her debut collection The Evolution of Birds confirms my view. This beautifully-crafted collection should not be missed.
~ Diane Simmons, author of Finding a Way

Paperback ISBN 978-1-912095-24-7; 133mm x 203mm; 136pp

£12.99 GBP

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